Can we talk blood pressure?

Janderso

Jeff Anderson
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I’ve been struggling with high blood pressure these last few months.
I know, diet and exercise will solve all my problems. Meanwhile, it’s too high.
I was on a beta blocker for years, it quit working. My BP spiked and my pulse went to 50 and below.
Now I’m taking Amlodipine twice a day. 2.5 m. Per dose.
When I got home today from work, my ankles are swollen and my BP was 169-89.

I have struggled with calcium blockers and ace inhibitors.
What works for you?
Thanks for your help.
Jeff
 
I'm on Linsopril 30 mg per day.

I sometimes have of high pressure and then low. Occasionally when I stand up I get light headed. They are still working on it trying to get t figured out.

So far the Linsopril work the best for me.
 
A good cardiologist. ;)

Tom
I have thought maybe it’s time.
I see a physician’s assistant.
I keep asking for a new direction and she wants to increase the same med.
Swollen ankles says no.
I see her in the morning. I should just ask for a referral to a real doc.
 
Yes, Jeff, good advice! I finally asked my MD for a referral to a cardiologist; less than a month later, I was on the "table" for a bypass surgery, BP, cholesterol all in the low normal now; my MD was conservative with drugs, the specialists do not shrink from ordering drugs that work, as long as insurance pays the bill. I take several drugs for BP, a beta blocker (Metaprolol), Hydroclorothiazide (diuretic) and Benazapril.
 
30mg lisinopril, 18 mg hydrochlorothiazide is working well for me. Only recently went to this dose, from 20/12.5 that I was on for 15 years.

Recent audits/exams suggest that retirement practice (3 months off) may hold the key to lasting improvement.....:big grin:
 
My Doc put me on Amlodipine as a trial, a year or so ago. The swelling was immediate and disconcerting, at least to me. He downplayed it, and was reluctant to simply increase my lisinopril/HCTZ dose. I insisted that the swelling was unacceptable. He agreed to the current therapy, and now agrees that it is doing what needs to be done. 123/78 is a good 'average' reading lately. I have a good cuff at home, and check enough to gain a reliable sample database.

I truly believe that my retirement will go a long ways to lower BP in and of itself. We shall see, very soon:grin:
 
The lisinopril/HCTZ works for me. 20/12.5 x 2 each day. If I can stay on an exercise routine I can cut it down to one a day but my old junk joints make that hard to do.
 
Jeff, get a full physical pronto. I had high blood pressure, my cholesterol was too high, and what ever else that was wrong. A month before my next appointment, woke up from a three day coma. In the EM ward where my wife brought me, they told her that she will be a widow. My blood glucose level was over 1100. My body just was not producing enough insulin. I got the take shots and what ever that needs to be done. Once, the diabetes was under control, all the other problems including high blood pressure got back to normal. Do what you got to do and don't put it off.
 
I have thought maybe it’s time.
I see a physician’s assistant.
I keep asking for a new direction and she wants to increase the same med.

Swollen ankles says no.
I see her in the morning. I should just ask for a referral to a real doc.

It is the person not the paper, PA's can be great because they often come from a background at a more human level, nurse, paramedic, military corpsman etc where they learned to listen to the patients concerns. This does not sound like one who has developed those skills.

If you are not happy with your "doctor" ask to see someone else, but don't believe that having an actual MD instead of a nurse practitioner or PA means you are getting a better care giver. The MD has more formal education, but may have less practical experience.
Specialists are another thing entirely. When I was younger I bounced around several doctors for some intestinal issues, when they finally sent me to a GI specialist he had narrowed it down to a small number of options within minutes, none of which involved the phrase "you just need more fiber in your diet" (I didn't) which was all that several of the previous doctors had focused on.


It is a huge turn off to me when I have a doctor that give me a canned answer or responds in a way that indicates they were not paying any attention to what I was saying or giving any weight to my concerns.

I'm dealing with this currently, I changed insurance plans so had to get a new doctor. They assigned me a nurse practitioner, nice lady but she is a serious pill pusher, and I am not a pill taker without good cause and she has no interest in discussing why. I will find another, someone who provides options and will discuss the advantages for each. I liked my last doctor, drugs were always his last option.
 
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